The Northland Environmental Protection Society filed action in the Auckland High Court on Friday 11th September against MPI and Customs over their interpretation of the 1949 Forestry Act. We will allow the Court to decide on the legality of the export of Swamp Kauri.

I will keep you up to date with what NEPs is doing. Evidence of timber overseas is everywhere on the net. The Ombudsman also found in our favour. MPI must hand over more information on our OIAs. Still waiting. Where is all the timber from the illegal mining sites. As the AG has said it was left up to trust. No timber has ever been confiscated. Our indigenous wetlands have been devastated by the the mining for swamp kauri. They are now wanting to open cast strip mine the Kaimaumau wetlands for resin. The NRC is considering funding this destruction.

The Employment Relations Authority has dismissed the claims of Michael Nager, an environmental monitoring officer who said he was bullied by the council and unjustifiably dismissed.Mr Nager was attacked and had bleach thrown in his eyes in June 2013, while on his way to court to give evidence against two Far North men who had defied council orders to stop digging up wetlands and ancient kauri logs.The pair were swamp kauri miners who later admitted that offence, although nobody was ever charged with the attack.

Great to see how the council support those it charges with enforcing their regulations, revictimising the victim - and they were so proud of themselves on the radio too - no concern about people getting away with intimidation and assault - grrrr...

From the other side they seem to be arguing that he spent lots of time “not being responsive and communicative, and failing to show up to important meetings about his job” while the regional council “tried to act with sensitivity and acted as a fair and reasonable employer”.

He probably would have a response to that statement, but Checkpoint didn’t go so far as finding out and/or reporting it.

Who would have thought that the kauri would come back and bite in the last week of an election campaign? Ironically, also with a strange link to the Minister charged with fronting and sorting the mess.

Ironically, also with a strange link to the Minister charged with fronting and sorting the mess.

Hmmm....I've had a wee gumbeat over on TS about this...I smell a number of rats decomposing in the swamp on this latest incident. The pipeline practically forms the eastern boundary of the big log storage yard.

I will not be satisfied until we get up there to check out the locale...from our knowledge of that immediate area things are not adding up. Vehicle troubles at the moment but should be up there by the weekend.

Ironically, also with a strange link to the Minister charged with fronting and sorting the mess.

A very strange link Hillary. The spill attributed to kauri excavation is in Ruakaka, and there's a company called Kauri Ruakaka Ltd. By a strange twist of fate, that company used to be known as Oravida Kauri Ltd.

The spill attributed to kauri excavation is in Ruakaka, and there’s a company called Kauri Ruakaka Ltd. By a strange twist of fate, that company used to be known as Oravida Kauri Ltd.

I'm waiting for the cowpoo to hit the rotor blades, somehow, soon - but it's strangely quiet. newshub "The 170km pipeline was damaged by a digger driver hunting for swamp kauri at Ruakaka three months ago, the New Zealand Herald reports.The pipeline remained intact but ruptured when pressure was increased on Thursday.Refining NZ chief executive Sjoerd Post confirmed to Newshub a digger had scraped over it, and it will take 10 to 15 days to fix."Read somewhere today it was definitely "kauri ruakaka" but now can't find that. So still waiting for Ms Collins to field some tough questions ...

I'm surprised that someone in the MSM hasn't picked up on this connection. Yet.

And an interesting thing. If you drill down through Oravida-related companies, director Shi Stone has 14 companies with the word "kauri" in their registered name. Ownership of these seems to weave through a variety of holding companies, for whatever reason.

And I see Jenny Shipley appears as a director for some. If the connection is correct, there is a certain irony in the fact that part of the blame for the current fuel crisis falls on the shoulders of a former National PM as well as an aspiring PM who'll never make the cut.

I guess the positive side of this is the undeniable ability of those responsible to pay full compensation for the damage they've caused.